A. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for producing a security element equipped with micro-depressions for security papers, documents of value or the like, with the micro-depressions being colored with a certain color and the method having the following steps: coating an upper side of a carrier with an embossable lacquer, forming micro-depressions in the lacquer in an area of the upper side coated with lacquer, and applying the certain color on the upper side and scraping off excess color, so that the color remains in the micro-depressions.
B. Related Art
Objects to be protected are frequently supplied with a security element allowing a verification of the authenticity of the object and at the same time serving as protection against unauthorized reproduction.
Objects to be protected are for example security papers, identity documents and documents of value (such as e.g. banknotes, chip cards, passports, identification cards, identity cards, shares, bonds, certificates, vouchers, checks, admission tickets, credit cards, health cards, . . . ) as well as product securing elements, such as e.g. labels, seals, packagings.
The falsification security and visibility of a security element is particularly great when the security element shows colored motifs or information.
DE 102007055112 A1 and DE 102008029158 A1 disclose the employment of a so-called washable ink for structuring a layer.
A security element known for banknotes is the so-called security thread and the so-called security strip. This is, as a rule, a strip of a width of 0.8 to 2 mm that is incorporated into the paper upon the production of banknotes or woven in as window security thread in such a fashion that it is partly disposed openly or that is glued on the paper. For additional protection against copying this element is mostly equipped with optical properties. The combination of microstructure elements with micro lenses disposed above them, enlarging the microstructure elements, has proven to be particularly falsification-proof. Here in particular the so-called moiré effect can be used. Such security elements are also referred to as “moiré magnifiers”. An exemplary description of such a security element can be found in WO 2008/031170 A1, suggesting to produce the micro lenses and microstructures using an embossable lacquer.
It has turned out that colored structures ensure even further falsification protection in particular when moiré magnifiers are used. It would therefore be conceivable to color the microstructure elements of moiré-magnifier security elements. However, doing so, the problem would arise that normally color residues remain also outside the microstructure elements as so-called toning, thereby reducing the difference in contrast between the microstructure elements filled with color that are usually configured as depressions and the rest of the surface.